10 Ways Meditation Will Make You Healthier & Happier

12:43 AM

True happiness doesn't come from wealth or beauty or status or anything external, it comes from...

True happiness doesn't come from wealth or beauty or status or anything external, it comes from within. Meditation brings you happiness, trust me! If you are not happy enough, read this to be happy or happier today and tomorrow. Meditation gives you the ability to control your emotions and deliberately choose a way of looking at things that makes you happy. Ask yourself if you are happy? I mean, really happy?

What do you think of when you imagine happiness? For me, I think of people smiling and laughing in a beautiful place with their friends or family. Everyone is attractive, self-assured, and glossy. It can happen anytime when I feel "happy happy" from inside of my heart and I go beyond some awesome feelings. Never can be described.

Generally, that’s what comes to mind when I think “happy”. But what is happiness really?

Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give - pleasure, possessions, power - but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy.

Most people spend their lives waiting for happiness. They cling to the idea that as soon as they get that job, as soon as they lose those last few pounds, as soon as they’re in a great relationships, then the gates will open and happiness will come rushing on through. Most people are misinformed. Happiness isn’t something that just happens, it’s something you need to actively pursue. True happiness doesn’t come from wealth or beauty or status or anything external, it comes from within.

In truth, the kind of happiness that most of us pursue will rarely lead to deep and lasting contentment. Why? Because it’s oriented towards getting things like beautiful people, places, objects, experiences.

Sure, these things can bring us pleasure, and that’s lovely, but it rarely lasts and often it becomes a burden. Why, because things, in and of themselves, can only bring us so much satisfaction.

Ultimately, I agree with a lot of folks out that who say that real happiness comes from within.

That’s where meditation fits in the happiness equation.

In my experience, meditation is one of the deepest keys to lasting happiness that I know of. Why? There are lots of reasons. Let’s unpack it together. Based on my 10 years meditating, here are 10 ways I’ve observed that meditation makes you happy.Recommended:

And full disclosure, these aren’t traditional definitions of happiness, but for me they define real happiness. My guess is that its true for you too.

1. Meditation makes you aware of yourself beyond anything else.

Meditation
makes you aware of your posture, your breathing, your gestures, your
body movements, your energy, and your overall presence. This awareness
alone makes you show up more confident and happier. And confidence is a
contagious and attractive quality to wake up to daily.

2. Meditation Helps You To Restful Sleep

Meditation
can help you let go of those circling thoughts that keep you from
drifting off at night. You’re also more likely to have deeper, more
refreshing sleep, so you’ll wake up feeling energized.

3. Meditation Empowers You

Meditation can empower you in amazing ways. Here’s what I mean.Meditation
is a practice of acceptance. You are letting everything be just as it
is. That means you aren’t trying to change anything at all. It’s a
posture of total acceptance and embrace.

If you have meditated
before, you know how hard that can be. It requires tremendous focus,
relaxation, and alertness. That’s why meditation is a practice. The more
you do it, the better you get at letting everything be as it is.

But
another way to put it is this. Meditation is about stopping your
endless struggle against reality. In meditation, you stop trying to
control everything. You let everything unfold exactly as it will. And
you accept everything completely as it is.That means that you no
longer try to control your mind, your thoughts, your moment-to-moment
experience, or anything else. You simply accept it as it is.

And this
releases tremendous energy and a sense of deep connection. All the
energy you usually invest in trying to control life and your human
experience is freed up and available for you to consciously channel in
new directions.This is the kind of happiness that can touch you at your core.Recommended:

4. Meditation reinforces your sense that life is good

Life
is good. Do you believe that? You don’t need to be sitting on your deck
sipping a beer at the end of the day to know and feel that life is
really really good.

5. Meditation Sharper Your Memory

Studies
have shown meditation can improve your memory. This is particularly
important in our digital world, where our attention spans are getting
shorter and shorter (it’s a fact!).

6. Meditation Reduces Stress

Chronic, unmanaged stress can make you sick and accelerate aging. As many scientific studies have found, prolonged stress contributes to the development of high blood pressure, heart disease, stomach ulcers, autoimmune diseases, anxiety, cancer, insomnia, chronic fatigue, obesity, and depression.

In meditation, your body releases stress and reverses the effects of the flight-or-fight response – that ancient instinct we all have to either run from perceived danger or take it on in battle. Intended as a short-term protection mechanism, fight or flight causes our body to speed up our heart rate, increase our blood sugar, suppress our immune system, reduce insulin production, pump out stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, and reduce the blood supply to our digestive organs. All of these reactions happen so that our body can focus on either running away as fast as it can – or staying to fight. Although few people reading this article face daily threats to their bodily existence, many live in a prolonged state of fight or flight, generating stress in response to bad traffic, criticism from a supervisor, or a workplace disagreement.Recommended:

7. Meditation Gives you Mental Clarity

Meditation
has been linked to better focus, concentration and attention to detail.
Studies have shown that it can re-wire your brain to strengthen the
parts associated with attention and sensory processing.

8. Meditation Connects You To Life

What
happens when you stop resisting life? You find the answer to this
question through meditation. When you practice meditation and stop
controlling your experience, something amazing begins to happen.

Your
connection to life changes. You become aware that all the energy and
effort you are making to control your experience is preventing you from
experiencing life as it is.

What does that mean exactly?

Your
investment in your mind is like a cloak that you live behind all the
time. It cuts you off from the ever-flowing current of life and free
awareness.

When you start to really let go of your mind and step
beyond the relentless stream of thought in your head, you experience an
inexpressible sense of wholeness and connection. You realize that your
awareness is not separate from all of life.

In fact, you know, through direct experience, that life and awareness are one thing.

Like
a river, life flows and unfolds through our moment to moment
experience. Our minds are used to chopping it all into pieces and
framing it like this and like that. But when you make direct and
immediate contact with this current of life energy, all your doubts and
fears are replaced by a deep sense of calm confidence.

You know
that you are connected to all of life right now. And it’s not
theoretical in the least. There are no words that can really match the
experience of this kind of happiness.

9. Meditation Helps You Create Harmonious Relationships

When you’re feeling balanced and centered, it is much easier to respond rather than react, to be present with a client or co-worker and really listen to what they are saying and what they may need.

As you meditate on a regular basis, you develop what is known as “witnessing awareness” – the ability to calmly and objectively observe a situation, notice when you are being triggered, and consciously choose how you want to respond. The ability to be present and aware is valuable in the workplace and every other area of your life. Recommended:

10. Kick-out You Ego

The meditative state takes you beyond the ego, into the realm of the
infinite, intelligent consciousness where the “self” does not exist,
there is only consciousness and a deep, loving, eternal, infinite peace.
Achieving this state of being gives you a new perspective and a new
appreciation for the physical experience that we call life.

Meditation can increase your levels of feel-good chemicals, like endorphins and serotonin. Studies also indicate it may increase your capacity for happiness and reduce your propensity towards negativity.

There’s only one way to see if meditation has a similar positive effect on your life. Try it!Meditation offers the kind of peaceful, deep relaxation that literally
melts stress away. You will be able to deliberately change your
thoughts, using the mental mastery you develop in meditation. And by
changing your thoughts, you will positively change your life. Now that’s
worth a smile!

Make sure to share this article and Follow us on Facebook & Twitter for more updates.